


Coming Home to Roost

by DJDragon15



Series: Lup the Amnesiac Elf [3]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Gen, Implied Past Magcretia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-16
Updated: 2018-07-23
Packaged: 2019-06-11 16:25:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15319455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DJDragon15/pseuds/DJDragon15
Summary: After years of fruitlessly chasing the Grand Relics, Lup and Lucretia manage to track the Phoenix Fire Gauntlet to Raven's Roost.





	1. A New Mission

Lup stretched her arms out, her entire body sore from the intense workout she had just put it through. She had just finished a long round of physical training, trying to get less reliant on her magic, just in case she found herself in an anti-magic field or out of spell slots. A few feet away from her was Killian, who she had just finished sparring with. 

While Lup ached all over and was drencehd with sweat, Killian barely looked like she had been exercising at all, as she had yet to break a sweat. She smirked and said, "I thought the Lead Reclaimer would be made of tougher stuff than that." 

Lup shot Killian a look of defiance and cracked her knuckles before retorting with, "My stuff is plenty tough pal, don't you worry about that!" 

The Regulator rolled her eyes and challenged, "Oh really? Because right about now you look like you're about to keel over." 

"You're hardly the toughest person I've ever met," Lup snorted, waving the woman off in jest. "I used to travel with a guy way tougher than you, and I doubt that decades of training went away in just four years." 

Lup faltered as she finished talking, staring off into the distance and blinking in shock. After a few moments she finally said, "Shit. Four years." 

Killian watched her curiously for a while. When she didn't say anything beyond that she finally questioned in a concerned tone, "You, uh... you okay there Lup?" 

The concern in her voice snapped Lup back to reality. She quickly brushed off her thoughts of the IPRE and said, "I'm fine. The point is, you're not gonna wear me out so easily!" 

Killian still looked a bit concerned, but shook it off and managed another smirk. "Well if that's the case, you should have no trouble going another round, right? She jeered. 

"Bring it on, give me your worst!" Lup yelled, raising her fists. She was putting on a brave face, but her body was shouting in protest, desperately crying out for a rest after the last round. 

Luckily, before Lup had to make good on her challenge to Killian, the door to the arena swung open. Carey Fangbattle walked into the room, glancing between the two women before addressing Lup nervously. 

"Um, the Director said she needed to speak to you about a Relic, Lup," she stuttered, not looking directly at Lup. "She, uh, she said it was, urgent." 

Lup raised herself up out of her fighting stance, eager for an excuse to not continue sparing, although she wasn't thrilled at the prospect of getting a new assignment. 

"Well, it looks like I gotta take this, thanks for the heads up Carey." She said, shooting the Dragonborn a thumbs up. She then turned to Killian and shrugged, continuing, "Sorry Killian, looks like I'll have to keep training you more later. Maybe Carey can help you get that adrenaline out of your system." 

Carey and Killian both blushed at that, and quickly looked away from one another. The two had recently started seeing each other but they were still trying to keep things quiet and out of sight from everyone else. Of course, this was a little silly to Lup, especially considering that Lup was the one who encouraged Killian to embrace her feelings for Carey. Regardless, Lup understood that it was their choice to keep quiet about things, and she didn't say anything outside of the occasional teasing jab at the two of them. 

Killian recovered from the embarrassment first, and managed to counter with, "You're just scared to go another round against me, so you're ducking out before I can wreck you in front of a witness!" 

Lup raised her hands in defeat as she continued out of the arena, and she answered, "You caught me, I told Carey to come in here and make up a story about the Director needing to talk to me, just so I could cut out of training after an hour of it, instead of before we started." Then she turned to look at Killian and rested her hands on her hips before sarcastically adding, "You know me so well it's scary." 

Killian grinned sheepishly and looked away, rubbing the back of her neck while Carey laughed at her. Lup smirked and walked out of the room. 

Lup opened the door to Lucretia's office slowly and glanced around the dark room as she made her way to the desk. She took in the new boards that had been placed around the room, each one showcasing a map of Faerun, different lines painted over each one. 

The seven boards scattered across the room each had a different amount of lines on them, some with hardly any lines drawn on the map, and some with so many different lines in so many different colors it was difficult to tell that there was ever a map of anything underneath. To the untrained eye it could pass for some kind of abstract art piece. 

The room was largely empty aside from the boards, except for the desk in the center of the room. The desk, normally pristine and well put together, had become a mess that even Lup was embarrassed by, although even in her disorder, Lucretia was clearly still more organized than Lup. 

The left side of the desk was covered in piles of dirty bowls and dishes, the right filled with dozens of journals, no doubt with notes filling every possible space in them. The middle of the desk had an empty space in it the shape of a trapezoid, and Lup could easily picture that shape being made by an exhausted Lucretia pushing the mess out of her way as she laid her arms out to cushion her head as she fell asleep at her desk. This made Lup smile slightly, as it warmed her heart to see that Lucretia's habits hadn't changed since their time on the Starblaster. 

"Lucretia?" Lup called out. 

As she did so, a figure near one of the boards that she hadn't noticed before jumped. The figure turned around and Lup frowned. Lucretia looked more deprived of sleep than Lup had ever seen her, even after her year alone on the Starblaster she hadn't looked this worn. 

Lucretia straightened up as she locked her gaze on the elf and said, "Ah, Lup, good. I told Miss Fangbattle I needed to talk to you." 

"Yeah, she said as much. Has there been a new sighting?" Lup asked. 

Lucretia nodded. "Exactly, we finally have a new lead." Lup sighed softly, hardly surprised. The two had hardly spoken about anything outside of the Grand Relics in months. 

"I thought so." Lup said, stepping towards Lucretia. "Luc, how long have you been in here? When was the last time you took a walk around the base, or went and visited Fisher?" 

"That hardly matters, Lup." Lucretia retorted, dismissing Lups concerns. "We need to track down the Grand Relics before the world tears itself apart." 

"Lucretia, you said it yourself, we can't just run ourselves ragged chasing after them." Lup argued, "We need to take care of ourselves, the others wouldn't want us killing ourselves like this." 

"That was before we went years without managing to even come close to another Relic." Lucretia interuppted, "The others wouldn't want us to keep allowing this world to be destroyed because we decided to take a break." 

Lup began to say something else, but stopped herself. "So, which is it? Did another kid get a hold of the Philosopher's Stone? Did we finally track down the traitor who took the Oculus? Or-" 

"It’s the Pheonix Fire Gauntlet." 

Lup paused, her eyes going wide. She couldn't remember the last time her Relic had been spotted before it was too late to stop a glassing. And any time they had arrived at a glassing, someone else had already squirreled it away. 

"Where is it?" Lup whispered, her throat tight. "I'll go out and get it right away." 

"It's not that simple this time, Lup." Lucretia answered. 

"What do you mean it's not that simple?" Lup yelled, "I go there, I take the Gauntlet from whoever has it, I bring it back. Even if I have to let the town get glassed, this isn't happening ever again." 

"We can't just let the town be glassed, you don't understand-" 

"What don't I understand, Lucretia?" Lup interrupted angrily. After this Relic had separated her from her family, forced her to live away from them for all these years, she was going to put a stop to it, whatever the costs. "Where is the Gauntlet?!" 

"It's been found near Raven's Roost!" Lucretia snapped. 

Lup froze. 

"Raven's Roost?" Lup repeated, stunned. "As in, where you brought Magnus after wiping our memories, Raven's Roost? That Raven's Roost?" 

Lucretia was silent for a minute. "Yes, that Raven's Roost." She finally whispered. 

"Lucretia, that's going to complicate things." Lup managed. 

"I know, Lup." 

"We can't let that town be destroyed, we can't let Magnus see that Gauntlet, think about what it'll do to his mind. We need to get there right away!" 

"I know!" Lucretia shouted. "I already had Avi set up a pod to land nearby the town. Get yourself ready as fast as you can, I need you to retrieve the Gauntlet before it's too late." 

"Okay, I'll grab the Umbra Staff, and I'll swing by Fisher's tank and have him grab me some of the Ichor so we can give Magnus his memories back, and-" 

"We can't do that." Lucretia interrupted, and Lup looked up at her in shock. 

"What do you mean we can't do that? He's a part of our family, we need to bring him aboard!" Lup argued. 

"Magnus has been away for five years," Lucretia reasoned, "He has a life at Raven's Roost, it wouldn't be right for us to just pull him away from that." 

"Okay, you're right," Lup sighed, "We can't just steal him from the life he's built there. But we can still give him back his memories, it's wrong to deny him that part of himself. He can still choose to stay there, but-" 

"No, Lup." Lucretia answered sternly. "When the time is right, and enough pieces of the Light of Creation have been recovered, we can gather the others. But until then, it's not right to remind them that they're outsiders to this world that they've been living in for so long." 

Lup stared at Lucretia in disbelief. She wanted to argue, shout that Lucretia just didn't want to be told that she was wrong by the rest of the IPRE, but she knew that nothing of good would come from it. Lucretia was right that giving them back their memories and pulling them from their new lives without their consent was just as wrong as letting them live a lie, but it didn't make it any easier for Lup to accept. 

"Okay, I'll get going then." Lup finally said, "I don't suppose you'll go and get some rest while I'm gone?" 

Lucretia sighed, then looked at Lup sadly. "I won't make any promises, Lup. But I'll try to dial it down until you get back from Raven's Roost. Just please, save Magnus." 

Lup smiled softly at her, "I promise, Luc. Take care of yourself." 

As Lup left the chamber, she passed by Davenport. 

"Hey, Dav." Lup said, stopping him, "How long has it been since she's left her office?" 

"Davenport..." Davenport answered, looking away from Lup. 

"Yeah, that's kinda what I thought." Lup muttered, looking back at the doors she just walked through. "Do me a favor, while you? Make sure she gets some rest over the next few days? Between you and me, she's about to collapse." 

"Davenport!" Davenport cheered, giving Lup a thumbs up. 

"Thanks Cap'n," Lup said, laughing slightly. "Well, if you'll excuse me, I've got a mission to attend to."


	2. Just One of those Faces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lup flies down to the outskirts of Raven's Roost and happens to run in to an old friend.

Not ten minutes after she had bid Davenport farewell, Lup was prepped for her mission and in the hangar talking to Avi. 

"Well hey there, Lup! Business or pleasure?" Avi asked the elf, before chuckling and continuing, "Nah, I'm just kidding, the Director already told me you're heading out on some important mission." 

"Yeah, no cooking shows for me today, sadly." Lup said with a slight smile. "She said that she told you where I'm going, yeah?" 

Avi nodded enthusiastically. "Yup! I'm to drop you off just outside of Raven's Roost, that sound about right to you?" 

"Sounds perfect, Avi." Lup answered. 

"Alright cool." Avi went on, "Now because Raven's Roost being built so, er, precariously, I'm gonna have to shoot the pod a bit of a trek away from town. We don't want to knock somebody's house off the side of a cliff!" 

"No, we definitely don't want that," Lup said, laughing lightly, "Don't worry about it Avi, I can handle a little bit of a trek. Remind me later and I can tell you about how I lived before I came aboard this ship." 

"Uhh... ship, ma'am?" Avi questioned, "Don't you mean base?" 

Lup tensed up, realizing her mistake. After a moment of silence between the two of them, she answered, "Yeah... that's what I meant, thanks, Avi." Wanting to draw attention away from her slip up, she quickly added, "Er, how far away from Raven's Roost do you think you'll be landing me?" 

"Huh? Oh, not far." Avi assured, "Maybe an hour, two tops? Nothing unbearable I promise." 

"Yeah that'll be fine, try and aim me so I can walk along the road into town if you don't mind." Lup said as she boarded the sphere. 

"You got it boss." Avi called with a wave. 

The trip to the surface of Faerun was a tense, silent one. Lup stared out the window to the horizon, lost in thought about her younger days. She hadn't been thinking about her time wandering the Felicity Wilds before Lucretia found her and restored her memories, but her days as a child with Taako. Running with traveling caravans to get from place to place, stealing what they needed to see the next sunrise, always just barely making it by the skin of their teeth. 

She hadn't really realized just how rought theiy living was though, not until they were older. In the moment, she and Taako were always just grateful to not be facing those hardships alone. She could only imagine how those memories felt to Taako, now that he couldn't remember having a sister. Lup looked down at her hands, which she hadn't realized were balled up into fists. As a tear streaked down the side of her face, and whispered to herself, "It wasn't all bad." 

It wasn't long before the sphere landed, and Lup gathered her things and began to set out on the path to Raven's Roost. She had only walked a short distance, before she saw a caravan making its way down the road, leaving the town. 

Lup grimaced and stepped off of the road so as to get out of the way of the cart, when she heard a familiar and boisterous voice call, "Hail and well met, traveler!" 

Lup's eyes went wide with shock as she froze. "No way," she muttered to herself, "it couldn't be..." 

The cart pulled to a stop in front of her and a muscular man jumped out of the back, before rounding the vehicle and approaching her. 

For the first time in half a decade, Lup found herself face to face with the human Magnus Burnsides. 

"Uhh, hello there... stranger..." Lup managed, shaking of the shock. "Is there something I can help you with?" 

Magnus raised his eyebrows in confusion, as if just realizing that he had been the one to stop her. "Oh, no, I’m sorry. I just thought you might want a ride up to town, seeing as you're walking up the road and I have a cart." 

"Mister Burnsides, please!" A man called from the front of the cart, "We're already running behind as it is, and if we turn around now to drop off this stranger, we'll never make it to the showcase on time!" 

"It's in 10 days, we'll be fine!" Magnus yelled back, "And how dare you call her a stranger, this is my good friend... uh..." 

Magnus' voice trailed off, and he turned to Lup and whispered, "Hey, I didn't actually catch your name I don't think, what was it again?" 

"Oh, it's um, it's Lup. I don't uh, I don't think we've met, though." Lup stuttered, terrified that somehow Magnus retrieved his memories, that he knew about her and the others again, that he chose not to come back for some reason, that- 

"No I know we don't know each other, but that doesn't mean we can't be friends!" Magnus answered, grinning. "Although, come to think of it, you do look kinda familiar, are you one hundred percent sure we don't know each other?" 

Lup breathed a sigh of relief before answering Magnus. "Yeah, I actually get this a lot. You're probably thinking of that elf with the traveling cooking show? You know, "Sizzle it up with Taako?"" 

Magnus put his hand to his chin for a moment. "Hmmm, I don't think so? I mean, you do look a lot like him, but I almost feel like I've seen you somewhere else." 

"Huh, I guess I just have one of those faces then?" Lup shrugged, trying to pass of her worry as nonchalance. 

"I guess you do? Who knows." He pointed behind him with his thumb and went on, "The guy was here just a couple of months ago, and picturing him in my head there's definitely some notable differences between you two." 

"Was he really?" Lup said, taken aback. She continued to herself, "How did I miss that? I almost never miss a show if I can help it." 

"Never?" Magnus asked curiously. "Wow, you must be a huge fan! And you must live on the road to be able to keep up with him like that." 

"Uhhhh, yup!" Lup answered, kicking herself for thinking out loud. ""Life on the road, no other way to live if you ask me! Well that and... my... job keeps me moving around a lot." 

"Oh? Well what brings you to Raven's Roost?" Magnus inquired. 

Lup rubbed the back of her neck, grinning sheepishly and said, "More of the same, just got some work to attend to." 

"Really? Can't think of many people who've come to Raven's Roost because of a traveling job." Magnus said, "What kind of job do you have, anyway?" 

"Oh, uh, you know," Lup stuttered, avoiding his gaze, "I'm a, um, merchant! Traveling merchant! Got my wares in my backpack here, I'm heading to town to see if I can make a few sales!" 

Magnus rolled his eyes and began to say something, when the cart driver spoke up again. "Mister Burnsides, I insist! We really must be going, we've lost enough time as it is, it won't be long before we have to stop and make camp!" 

Magnus sighed and muttered, "I really wish Julia hadn't made me use a driver for my trip, I'm a hero. I have Vehicle Proficiency!" 

Lup laughed and replied, "I bet you do. It's okay though, really. I don't mind walking the rest of the way to town, you go ahead on your way mister Burnsides." 

"It's Magnus." He answered, stretching his arm out to shake hers. She took his hand and he grinned at her again. "Good luck with selling your knives or whatever." 

He started to climb back into the cart, but before he did he shouted to Lup, "Oh! And once you get to town, if you need a place to stay you should look up Julia!" 

Lup chuckled and asked, "A friend of yours I'm assuming?" 

"Yup, my wife! Julia Burnsides!" Magnus called as the cart started to pull away from Lup. "Tell her we met on my way out of town, she'd be happy to help you out!" 

"Good to know, thank you!" Lup shouted back as the cart crested over a hill and out of sight. 

She looked down the road towards the town and stood in silence for a minute. Finally, she muttered, "Wife? Who would've thought? Maybe I shouldn't tell Lucretia I ran into Magnus." She chuckled at her joke and continued on the path.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey I got a chapter out on time! That's a nice change of pace, huh? Also I went to the TAZ Book Tour in NYC last week and it was amazing, I had such a great time! Anyway, let me know what you thought of this chapter!

**Author's Note:**

> And I said that this arc wouldn't take 2 months to start up, whoops! Sorry about that, I had a lot of shit to deal with and this just slipped my mind. I hope to have this arc be consistently coming out one chapter a week, so be on the lookout for that! Let me know what you think of this chapter!  
> EDIT: Wow it's been so long I forgot to list this as a multi-chapter story! I'll get back into the swing of things, I promise lol


End file.
